Live: Federal government shutdown begins

Welcome to our live blog on what could be the first partial U.S. federal government shutdown since 1995. The shutdown would start Tuesday if, by midnight tonight, Congress doesn't pass at least a short-term spending measure that continues to fund government.

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 3:31:12 PM

Why is there a Monday night deadline? Because Monday is the last day of the federal fiscal year, and the government's last spending authorization runs out then.

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 3:36:46 PM

The main holdup: House Republicans want any spending plan to include measures that at least disrupt the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 health care reform law otherwise known as Obamacare. But the Senate's Democratic leadership has consistently rejected tying the spending resolution to Obamacare, leaving little apparent room to avoid a shutdown in the few hours before it would begin

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 3:42:38 PM

The Republican-controlled House on Sunday passed a spending bill that would delay Obamacare for a year and repeal a tax on medical devices. That's not going to fly in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The Senate is expected to convene at 2 p.m., strip Obamacare provisions from the spending plan and then send it back to the House -- which at this point isn't exactly expected to pass a plan without anti-Obamacare measures.

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 3:46:21 PM

This is why a shutdown after midnight tonight looks likely -- but a lot of things can happen during a day on Capitol Hill. Stay with this blog to keep up with the latest.

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 3:50:07 PM

So, what would happen if the Senate strips the anti-Obamacare measures from the spending bill this afternoon? CNN chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash has this from Capitol Hill:

Leading option for House GOP, per @DanaBashCNN is to add 1 yr delay of indiv mandate to CR,(22 House Ds backed but might not bf shutdown)

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 4:57:38 PM

Again, we're waiting for the Senate to convene around 2 p.m.

Attorney General Eric Holder has weighed in on the potential shutdown. Though Senate-confirmed presidential appointees like him aren't set to lose any pay if it happens, many others in the Justice Department are. So, he says, he will take a pay cut -- "whatever amount is greatest for any employee at the Justice Department."

"As I have made clear we are all in this together and whatever pain they suffer I will share with them," he told reporters at a news conference today.

Furloughs, he said, would "have a disruptive impact on the work of the Justice Department."

"Now, we will certainly make sure that national security is protected, " he said. "On the criminal side our lawyers, our investigators will still be in the field. But on the civil side and a whole range of others things that the Justice Department is entrusted to do we will not do the job that the American people expect of us."

by Sarah Aarthun9/30/2013 5:01:10 PM

CNN's Christine Romans breaks down how a government shutdown could affect you.

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 5:05:15 PM

Today's spending battle in Congress comes as President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Minutes ago, Obama, sitting with Netanyahu at the White House, took some time to talk to reporters about the shutdown threat:

"I am not at all resigned" to a shutdown, Obama said.

"The bottom line is that the Senate has passed a bill that keeps the government open, does not have a lot of extraneous issues to it, that allows us to then negotiate a longer-term budget … but ensures that we're not shutting down the government … at a time when a lot of families" are just now digging themselves out of hard times.

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 5:08:19 PM

More from President Obama, who spoke to reporters minutes ago while sitting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House:

"Congress has two responsibilities: pass a budget (and) pay the bills. I am not only open to, but eager to, have negotiation around a long-term budget that makes sure were investing in middle-class families ... and deals with some of our long-term challenges in terms of debt and deficits."

Obama said he probably would have more to say to the news media later today.

Signs of house gop splintering? Rep Lamborn says he wants to do 1 wk CR, move on to next fight on debt ceiling, says unclear if others agree

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 5:20:39 PM

We want to point your attention to what CNN chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash reported via Twitter and in this blog earlier today. House GOP sources told her that, should the Senate reject the House's spending bill (which would delay Obamacare for a year), the House may try to attach a provision that would delay Obamacare's individual mandate.

The individual mandate is the requirement that virtually all Americans have health insurance or face a financial penalty. Attempting to delay this requirement appears to be the leading option for the House's next move, the House GOP sources said.

This option has been floated for some time. Last week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney dismissed suggestions that delaying the mandate might be a feasible compromise. He argued that one of the most popular aspects of the Affordable Care Act -- the protection of those with pre-existing conditions -- cannot work without the individual mandate.

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 5:26:29 PM

Wondering why House Republicans are using a spending bill to try to dismantle Obamacare? One answer: Because, they argue, the funding of the government is the only option available to stop a bill that they say is not ready for use, that will force people from their health insurance plans, and that will prompt businesses to reduce employee hours rather than provide them health insurance. Read more about this from our political unit.

Carney on proposal for medical device tax repeal as part of CR: "none of this is acceptable.." Calls it "blatant extortion."

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 5:37:23 PM

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is addressing the battle now:

"We are at a moment where the House of Representative has to decide … whether roughly 60 members of (House Speaker John Boehner's) caucus -- the tea partyfaction -- will dictate to the American people whether the government will be shut down because they have not been able to achieve through normal means their ideological agenda," he told reporters moments ago.

U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin, says he'd be open to passing a weeklong funding bill, with no Obamacare changes, so that lawmakers can continue to debate Obamacare without shutting down the government.

Duffy said he and many other House Republicans "want to keep the fight going on Obamacare" without hitting a government shutdown.

He said many of his constituents call his office to complain about Obamacare, blaming the loss of their jobs or cuts to their work hours on the health care law. But they also tell him that the government shouldn't shut down, he said.

House Republicans are going to talk with each other this afternoon about "how to find that sweet spot" of weakening Obamacare while keeping the government going, Duffy said.

At brief WH press secretary Jay Carney did not rule out one week CR to keep govt running, didn't want to comment on options before congress

by Jason.Hanna9/30/2013 5:53:41 PM

Just after 2 p.m., the Senate will vote on whether to strip anti-Obamacare amendments in the House-passed government funding bill, leadership aides from each party, according to CNN's Craig Broffman.

The vote requires a simple majority to pass, meaning Democrats, who control the Senate 54-46, can remove the House amendments -- which delay Obamacarefor a year and repeal a medical device tax -- without Republican votes.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his leadership plan to hold a news conference shortly after a vote.

The Senate has done the expected: It has rejected the House's spending bill, which would have kept government running but also delayed Obamacare for a year and repealed a medical device tax. The Senate vote was 54-46.

Eyes now go to the Republican-controlled House. House GOP members began meeting about a half hour ago to determine what to do next, anticipating the Senate rejection.